Air-cooled offset tip electrode



Nov. 27, 1945. J, wlsLER 2,389,945

AIR COOLED OFFSET TIP ELECTRODE Filed April 1, 194

FIG. I

cooled by rapid dissipation of heat from Patented Nov. 21, 1945 UNITED. STATES PATENT, OFFICE John]. Pa, asllgnor to AnnatrengCol-k Company, Lancaster, Pa. amm- 'ratianofrennsylvania Application April 1, 1944, Serial No. 529,067

Thisinvmtlcni'elatesto an oflset tip electrode iorresistaneetypespotweldingmachines. Itis particularlyccncernedwithatipwhichwillpeb mit accessintosmallconflnedareas-suchasare frequentiyencounteredinfabrication ofairpla'ne partsandtheliketmmaluminumalioya- In the spot welding of aluminum alloys, it is desirableioatablishaconditionofthermalequilibrium as mi dly as poss ble on the electrode face adjacent to the zone of the weld and to trode into tight, flrm, and good heat and electric maintain a temperature of the electrode tip at 1 an optimum low value, generally of the order of 7. or less. When these conditions are not satisfied, the symmetry of'theweld shape is oor audlzhe shear strength is low due to failure to .estalfiish thermal equ librium rapidly, and frequent cleaning of the electrode faces is necessary because of overheating.

It .'-is an object of my invention to provide an offsettip welding electrode having provision for rapidly dissipating heat from the working surface of the tipwhere heat is generated in the welding ope A object is to provide an offset tip' welding electrode provided with heat dissipating means and so designed as to he structurally strong to obviate deleterious deflection at pressures normally encountered in welding. v

Vilithv certain types of offset tips, it is possible to provide for fluid cooling. For example, this maybe accomplished by directing cooling water to the tip in a conduit disposed in good heat conducting relationship with th tip. Such an arrangement is disclosed in my copen'ding application Serial No. 529. 8, m d pril 1, 1944, and entitled Fluid cooled oflset tip electrode. With small offset welding tips, however, it is not possible to provide for such cooling. The present invention is directed to an offset tip electrode which is th tip into the surrounding atmosphere.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one form of my invention. In the drawing.

Figure l is an inverted side elevation of-an offset tip welding electrode em dyins my invention; 7

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the electrode of rear ofthe electmdeofl'igure 1.

' portion of the body 2.

SCIaims. (onus-4) Alloftheflmresaretoanenlargedscaiefor convenience of illustration. I

The electrode includes a b0dy,.'a tip 3. nd a sub-base 4 which is received within a spot weld ing machine horn, arm, or extension thereof. The sub-base 4 is provided with aeentral screw threaded opening i to receive a hollow head set screw or the like which is used to secure the eleccurrent conducting relationship with the weldins machine horn, arm, or extension thereof.

It will he observed that thevertical axis A-A .of the welding tip '3 is oifset radially from'the vertical axis B.B of the support 2. Also, the upper portion of tip I is disposed in a horizontal plane substantially below the plane of the lower The body 2 and tip I are connected by a cooling fln or web 6. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that the web 6 is substantially circular in plan and is substantially. greater in diameter than the diameter of either the body 2 or the tip 3. Inthe preferred embodiment shown in the drawing, the center of the body 2 and the center of the tip 3 lie along a line drawn through the center of the web 6 with the body 2 and tip 3 overlapping each other for a portion of their extent. As illustrated in Fiflure 4, this provides a relatively heavy section 6 between the body 2 and the tip 3 which serves to produce a rigid structure and avoids any tendency toward deflection of the tip during welding. In welding aluminum alloys, such as 24 ST Alciad in a thickness of .040", a. welding IOrce of 720 pounds or more may be developed between the electrodes and ;a forging force 1540 pounds or more may be used in consummation of the weld.

It is necessary, therefore, to provide a tip structure which will be relatively rigid an will not deflect to an excessive extent under welding and forging pressures encountered in use.

The fin 8 is of gradually diminishing cross section from a point adjacent the front or nose portion 8 of the tip! toward a point Set the rearing force of 806 pounds and a forging force of 1600 pounds. The size of the various partswill depend to a considerable extent-upon the area 1 available at the point of welding, but for all practical purposes, a tip of the dimensions mentioned above has been found to operate very satisfactorily, producing consistent welds in joining two pieces-of aluminumalloys each up to .064" thick. By providing for adequate heat dissipation thermal stability can be maintained and, as each succeeding weld is initiated, the temperature of the tip will be at or about the desired low point, normally in the order of C.

While it is preferred to manufacture the tip from a single piece of metal as shown in the drawing, it may be built up or fabricated from smaller pieces joined together mechanically or by means of soft solder or the like. Commercially available copper-chrome or copper-cadmium alloys having 80% I. A. C. S. conductivity and an ulti mate strength or 65,000 pounds per square inch has been found satisfactory for such tips.

With the electrode of the present invention, it is possible to rapidly dissipate heat into the surrounding atmosphere because of the extensive 2 surface area of the fin which is effective for conducting heat away from the tip. Since heat may be rapidly removed from the working face of the tip, cleaning of the work face is less frequently required and this eliminates considerable downtime of the welding machine. The tip is sufficiently rigid for all practical purposes and is, small and compact so that it may be fitted into relatively small places where an ordinary ofiset tip electrode could not be positioned, particularly if provided with external water cooling means.

While I have described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood my invention is not limited thereto 5 tip.

tially cylindrical body portion, a substantially cylindrical tip, the vertical axes of the body and tip portions being substantially parallel but offset transversely from one another, and a web of extensive surface area integrally joining the body and tip, said web being of thin section adjacent the body and tapering to substantially greater section adjacent the tip, said web extending radially beyond the tip to Provide an extensive area for the dissipation of heat from said tip.

2. An integral, single piece'oifset tip welding electrode comprising a tip portion having a working surface at which heat is generated in use, a body portion provided with means for attaching the electrode to an electrode holder, the vertical axes of the tip and body portions being substantially parallel, with the tip portion being spaced horizontally and vertically from the body portion, and a web of tapering cross section joining the tip to the body, said web extending radially beyond the'tlp and body portions throughout at least a major portion of the periphery of each and providing an extensive surface area for dissipation of heat from the working surface of said 3. An integral, single piece offset tip spot a working surface at which heat is generated in use, a body portion provided with means for attaching the electrode to an electrode holder, the tip portion being'spaced both horizontally and vertically from the body portion, and a web connecting the tip and body portions, said web being substantially circular in plan and tapering from a zone of greatest cross section in the vicinity of the tip to prevent deflection in use to a substantially zero cross section at the zone of the rear surface of the body, the diameter of said web being substantially greater than the Since it y Otherwise embodied Within the 40 diameter of said body portion and said web being scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A single piece offset tip welding electrode formed of copper alloy or like heat and electrical current conducting metal comprising a substantapered in both upper and lower surfaces to provide extensive surface areas for heat dissipation to the surrounding atmosphere.

JOHN J. WISLER. 

